David “Deacon” Jones died at the age of 74. Jones was a defensive end in the NFL who came up with the term “sack” for tackling the quarterback behind the line of scrimmage. It sounds like Jones might have killed a raccoon or two as a child based on his description of a sack.

“You take all the offensive linemen and put them in a burlap bag, and then you take a baseball bat and beat on the bag. You’re sacking them, you’re bagging them. And that’s what you’re doing with a quarterback.”

American writer Norbert Blei has passed away at the age of 78. He wrote 17 books of non-fiction, fiction, poetry and essays. Norbert was born in Chicago and attended Illinois State University which is in Bloomington-Normal. Coincidentally, I was there just the other weekend. While there I authored one of the must delicious cups of self-serve frozen yogurt you could ever imagine. Multiple flavors of frozen yogurt? Check. Ground up thin mints? Check. Cookie dough balls? Check. Reeses Pieces and Peanut Butter Cups? Check and Check. But I digress.

Rest in peace to Mr. Blei, who created some great pieces of art in his day that will live on well beyond his passing, even if it was overshadowed by a masterfully crafted frozen yogurt treat. I definitely should have taken a picture. Damn it.

Allan Arbus was a photography and actor, best known for playing Major Sidney Freedman on M*A*S*H. The New York Times described his character by saying, “He treated wounds of the psyche much as Capt. Hawkeye Pierce treated surgery patients: with a never-ending string of zingers.” He’s probably glad he was unable to read that. Rest in peace and rest in steesh.

Bill Moody, better known as Paul Bearer has passed away. No official word on a cause of death but we’ve all been assuming it would be a heart attack since we first saw him in the early 90’s. Rest in Peace Paul. You were a great entertainer and had amazing facial expressions.

Richard McWilliam was a co-found of Upper Deck trading cards. Thanks to Richard McWilliam, I have about 10 copies of this card. I never opened a pack and found the elusive Ken Griffey Jr. rookie card, but I don’t hold that against you Richard. RIP Mr. McWilliam.

Cliff Burton was the bassist for Metallica before he died in 1986. If Cliff were alive today, I’d imagine he’d have written several Op-Ed pieces for the Wall Street Journal on the insustainability of our government to function for the people with the callous and irresponsible way in which they conduct business. Or maybe he’d just spit in John Boehner’s face. Either way, ya know?